Get a wallet and keep it safe

A crypto wallet doesn't hold coins the way a leather wallet holds cash. Your balances live onchain. The wallet holds the keys that let you move them, and signs transactions when you approve.

The recovery phrase is the wallet

When you create a wallet, it shows you 12 or 24 words. That phrase can regenerate your keys on any device. It's the single most important thing you'll own in crypto:

• Lose it and lose your phone, and the funds are gone forever.
• Share it with anyone, and the funds are theirs.

Write it on paper (or stamp it in metal), store it somewhere safe and offline, and never type it into a website, a form, a chat or a photo. No legitimate app, airdrop or support team will ever ask for it.

Picking a wallet

Most people use a browser extension plus the matching phone app.

• PhantomThe most used Solana wallet
• SolflareSolana-native wallet with strong staking
• BackpackWallet plus regulated exchange

• Phantom is the most used. It supports several chains, has built-in swaps and staking, and shows a clear preview before you sign. In-app swaps carry a 0.85% fee, so serious traders often swap on Jupiter instead.
• Solflare is Solana-only, strong on native staking, and now has built-in perps powered by Phoenix and 750+ tokenized stocks.
• Backpack pairs a self-custody wallet with a licensed exchange.

Download only from the official website or your phone's app store. Fake wallet apps exist and look identical.

Hardware wallets and multisig

A hardware wallet like a Ledger keeps keys on a separate device and asks you to confirm each transaction physically. Phantom and Solflare both connect to one. Use it for anything you'd hate to lose. The Solana Seeker phone builds a similar secure element into the phone itself.

A multisig such as Squads needs several keys to approve a transaction. It's the standard for team treasuries and protocol upgrade keys, and works well for couples or partners too.

Two wallets, one rule

The habit that saves the most money is simple: keep two wallets.

	Vault	Daily
Holds	Savings, long-term positions	Small amounts for new apps
Signs	Rarely, only trusted apps	Mints, airdrops, new protocols
Ideally	Hardware wallet	Browser extension

If your daily wallet ever signs something malicious, your savings aren't in it.

Reading what you sign

Before every approval, good wallets simulate the transaction and show which tokens will leave and arrive. Read it. If a "free claim" shows your SOL or NFTs leaving, reject it. This one habit stops most drainers. The security lesson goes deeper.